Hundreds of libraries across the country will be celebrating National Gaming Day this Saturday, November 14, 2009.  The American Library Association (ALA) is sponsoring this event. 

The National Gaming Day programs will include board games, card games, computer games and video games.  Did you know that games have been played in libraries for more than a hundred years? 

The Mt. Washington Branch Library’s National Gaming Day program will be held from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM on Saturday.  Along with our regular monthly video game program for teens, we will be providing a variety of board games for kids and teens to play. 

So, what is your favorite board game?  Battleship?  Chess?  Clue?  Game of Life?  Pictureka?  Risk?  Scattergories?  Scrabble?  Sorry!?  Uno?  Yahtzee? 

One of my favorite games is Monopoly.   When I was in 8th grade, my friends and I would spend days playing  just one game of Monopoly during the summer. 

Here are some fun facts I found on the official Monopoly web page:

• Over 250 million Monopoly games have been sold worldwide.
• More than 5 billion little green houses have been “built” since 1935.
• The longest Monopoly game in history lasted 70 straight days.  My friends and I only lasted 6 days.
• Parker Brothers once sent an armored car with one million dollars of the Monopoly game money to a marathon game in Pittsburgh that had run out of money.
• The total amount of money in a standard Monopoly game is $15,140.
• The three most landed on properties are Illinois Avenue, “GO” and the B&O Railroad. 
• The character locked behind the bars is called Jake the Jailbird.
• There are 22 properties that can be built on.

marianj 

       If you don’t know who August Wilson is, you need to. He’s the most notable  playwright ever born in Pittsburgh. His Pittsburgh cycle is a series of ten plays that captures the spirit and cadence of  African -American life  during each decade of the twentieth century.  And he’s the only person ever to  receive his high school diploma from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

According to Contemporary Authors on infotrac, “Wilson felt his real education began when he was 16.” Before he entered high school, he grew up  in a 2-room apartment in mixed race community in the Hill District where people accepted one another. But that ended when he, his mother and five siblings  moved to Hazlewood.

He entered Central Catholic High School in 1959 as the only African-American student in the prestigous school. He was left notes everyday that said something like ,”Go home, Nigger.” Large groups of  guys waited to fight  him after school and his principal often sent him home  on a taxi. What the principal didn’t know, Wilson has said, is those same guys waited for him in the mornings. “I got in a lot of fights, ” he said  in Conversations with August Wilson.

He left Central Catholic to study auto mechanics at Connelly School but that class was full so he ended up making tin cups in metal sheeting. Half the day was spent in classes at the fifth grade level. Feeling unchallenged, Wilson  transfered to Gladstone High School. 

When a teacher accused him of having his sisters write a  term paper he did on Napoleon, Wilson walked out. He spent the next  two weeks playing basketball outside the principal’s office. He later admitted he hoped someone would come out of the school to see why he was there. No one ever did.

Wilson began educating himself at the Carnegie Library.  He sent poems to black publications at the University of Pittsbugh which published them. Eventually he wrote plays that received a Pulitzer Prize, a Tony Award and more.

The reason I’m writing about August Wilson, other than his life makes a remarkable story, is because The August Wilson Center for African-American Culture recently opened and  several of his plays are being performed during this week and next.  Here’s the schedule: http://www.augustwilsoncenter.org/events/index.php

Although you can read his plays, I hightly recommend seeing them. They’re not to everyone’s liking but I love their poetry, their mystical, mythical spiritualism coupled with down-to-earth characters living in historical times.

If you want to read some August Wilson for yourself, here’s a few of his plays:

Fences set in 1997

 Jitney set in 1977

    The  Piano Lesson set in 1936

I was extremely blessed to grow up in an information-rich and censorship-free household. As a teen, I read a lot of edgy, arguably better-for-adults titles—nothing was off-limits to me. Some of my favorite authors were Margaret Atwood, Joyce Carol Oates, and Salman Rushdie. I devoured anything about the beat generation, particularly writings on my favorite, William Burroughs.

I did this because teen books always seemed so lame when I actually was a teenager—cheesy romances, beach reads, goody-two-shoes sci-fi and fantasy—with the notable exception of books by Robert Cormier. His books were fierce and complicated, filled with the moral nuances of life and an unflinching look at the way people experience them.

Robert Cormier once said in an interview that a driving force in his writing was his awareness that “innocence doesn’t provide immunity from evil.” If you are a lover of the perfect mix of realistic fiction and psychological thriller, check out these books:

13-year-old Paul discovers that he has an amazing gift: the ability to become invisible, the ability to fade. Would you read someone else’s diary if you had the chance? Listen to what your loved ones say about you behind closed doors? What terrible things will Paul discover as he invisibly snoops on others?

18-year-old Francis returns from WWII missing half his face. What kind of person would throw himself onto a grenade? And what will happen to that kind of person when he survives?

Eric, a juvenile to the criminal justice system, has just been released from jail after killing his mother and stepfather. He is also suspected of the murder of several young girls. What happens when handsome Eric meets desperate Lori? Can her love save him, or will Lori become just another one of Eric’s girls?

What happens when a nobody goes up against the most powerful guys in school? How much will it take to turn Jerry the victim into Jerry the abuser? How much does it take for you to become the person you hate?

Sara Dora, CLP-Hazelwood

National Hunger and Homelessness

Awareness Week (NHHAW “nah-haw”)

November 15-21, 2009

Each year, one week before Thanksgiving, National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness co-sponsor National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. During this week, a number of schools, communities and cities take part in a nationwide effort to bring greater awareness to the problems of hunger and homelessness.

-National Coalition for the Homeless

Hunger and Homelessness in the United States: What does this have to do with you?

Teens and children are arguably the ones who suffer the most from hunger and homelessness.

• Of these 36.2 million individual living in food insecure households, 23.8 million are adults (10.6 percent of all adults) and 12.4 million are children (16.9 percent of all children).

• In 2003, children under the age of 18 accounted for 39% of the homeless population; 42% of these children were under the age of five (National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 2004). This same study found that unaccompanied minors comprised 5% of the urban homeless population. However, in other cities and especially in rural areas, the numbers of children experiencing homelessness are much higher.

On October 25, 2009, Ian Urbina wrote an article in the NY Times entitled Recession Drives Surge in Youth Runaways. I have included an excerpt below:

“Several times a month we’re seeing kids being left by parents who say they can’t afford them anymore,” said Mary Ferrell, director of the Maslow Project, a resource center for homeless children and families in Medford. With fewer jobs available, teenagers are less able to help their families financially. Relatives and family friends are less likely to take them in.

While federal officials say homelessness over all is expected to rise 10 percent to 20 percent this year, a federal survey of schools showed a 40 percent increase in the number of juveniles living on their own last year, more than double the number in 2003.

At the same time, however, many financially troubled states began sharply cutting social services last year. Though President Obama’s $787 billion economic stimulus package includes $1.5 billion to address the problem of homelessness, state officials and youth advocates say that almost all of that money will go toward homeless families, not unaccompanied youths.

Now that you know: What you can do?

• Donate to your local food bank

• Volunteer your time at a homeless shelter

• Start a social justice group at your school

• Don’t look away the next time you see someone down on his or her luck

So…What are you going to do?

NHHAW Countdown: 9 days

*Statistics for this post were from the National Coalition for the Homeless and the Food Research and Action Center.

Register to meet Lauren Myracle here!

A couple weeks ago, teen throughout Pittsburgh had the opportunity to meet D.J. MacHale, author of the Pendragon books.  He spoke at two local middle schools (Pittsburgh Murray and Pittsburgh Schiller) and at CLP – Main, and it was AWESOME.

Well, another author visit is getting close, and I hope you’ll all come! Lauren Myracle, author of ttyl, ttfn, l8r g8r, Bliss and many more will be speaking at CLP – Squirrel Hill on November 18th.

One thing that I really admire about Lauren Myracle is her commitment to intellectual freedom.  See, her books get banned from schools and libraries…a lot.  She’s not afraid to write like teens actually talk, about things that teens actually think about, like sex and drugs and “inappropriate relationships.”  Teens love her (and so do I), but adults sometimes get afraid.  I guess some people think that if teens aren’t thinking about sex, and they read about other people thinking about sex, then they’ll…run out and start having sex? I don’t know…that doesn’t seem very likely to me.

At any rate, Lauren Myracle stands up to the people who try to get her books removed from schools and libraries.  She talks to them, has webchats about censorship, and supports the Freedom to Read Foundation.  AND she writes awesome books.

It’s looking like Lauren’s only appearance in Pittsburgh will be at the library, because I haven’t been able to book her into any local schools.  Many of her books aren’t approved for school libraries.  I’ll tell you true, though, we have them ALL at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh! So come on down, check out a book, and then come to Squirrel Hill on Wednesday, November 18th at 7:00 pm to meet the author and get a free copy of one of her books!

Bliss

Bliss has left the hippie commune she grew up in for elite Crestview Academy.  She’s having trouble adjusting, until a new friend comes along…a friend who’s obsessed with a long ago murder that happened on campus.

Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen

Middle school’s fun, right? Not when you have to deal with a grumpy big sister, a snooty classmate, and a growing distance between yourself and your best friend!

How to be Bad

Told in alternating voices, Jesse, Vicks, and Mel, hoping to leave all their worries and woes behind, escape their small town by taking a road trip to Miami. Co-written by E. Lockhart and Sarah Mlynowski.

Kissing Kate

Sixteen-year-old Lissa’s relationship with her best friend changes after they kiss at a party and Lissa does not know what to do, until she gets help from an unexpected new friend.

Let it Snow

In three intertwining short stories, several high school couples experience the trials and tribulations along with the joys of romance during a Christmas Eve snowstorm in a small town. Co-written by John Green and Maureen Johnson.

Luv Ya Bunches

Four girls with nothing in common except their names — they were all named after flowers — bond through instant messages, screenplay and blog posts. This is Lauren’s newest book and is recommended for grades 3-5.

Peace, Love and Baby Ducks

Fifteen-year-old Carly’s summer volunteer experience makes her feel more real than her life of privilege in Atlanta ever did, but her younger sister starts high school pretending to be what she is not, and both find their relationships suffering.

Rhymes with Witches

High school freshman Jane believes that she would do anything to be popular until she is selected to be in the school’s most exclusive clique and learns that popularity has a price.

ttyl, ttfn, and l8r g8r

The Internet Girls series, written entirely in instant messages, chronicles the real and imagined adventures of a group of girls as they navigate the rocky road of high school. Recommended for grades 8+

And if you REALLY want to be freaked out, watch this SUPER CREEPY book trailer for Bliss:

Pittsburgh is home to many fantastic  teen writers. The Ralph Munn Creative Writing Contest is evidence of that. So, for all you writers out there–is there a novel in your head that is trying to get out? Then NaNoWriMo might be just what you need.

Short for “National Novel Writing Month”, NaNoWriMo is a free online initiative in which the participants attempt to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. For author John Green’s great sum-up of the ins and outs of NaNo, watch the video below!

The NaNo website describes it as a “seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing.” Fifty-thousand words is a lot, and thirty days isn’t a long time, so NaNoWriMo is basically thirty days of crazed speed writing. The end product isn’t supposed to be good—no one can sit down and crank out a perfect novel right off the bat, no matter how good a writer they are. The point of NaNo is to fling caution to the wind, set aside your insecurities, and just get your ideas out of your brain and onto paper.

So all you have to do is sit down and write 1,667 words (about 7.5 pages, doubled spaced) every day, no matter what, even if you are reduced to making your characters quote entire passages from the encyclopedia. Save all your editing for December!

There are lots of tools available to help you write faster. My favorite is an application called Write or Die at Dr. Wicked’s Writing Lab. You set a word goal and a time goal, and if your writing speed falls below what is required to meet your goal Dr. Wicked punishes you! (You get to choose your punishment mode, which ranges from gentle to electric shock).

There is also a book called No Plot? No Problem!  A Low Stress, high Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 days, written by Chris Baty, the founder of NaNoWriMo. It’s chock full of tips to help you get your novel written!

Be sure to check out  Teens Writing For Teens, an online community for young adult authors.

On the NaNo website you can update your wordcount as you write, visit the blog, get web badges, connect with other authors, procrastinate on the forums, and much more.

Teens are always welcome in the NaNo community; those age 12 and under are encouraged to participate in NaNoWriMo as well at their Young Writers Program website.

Will you accept the challenge?

-Eva M., CLP-Allegheny

I was wrong about the score, but not about the outcome.  The Steelers beat the Vikings! 

I expected a more high scoring offence on the part of both teams.  Adrian Peterson had a few good runs, but the Steeler D only allowed him 69 yards.  Favre completed 34 passes out of 51 for 334 yards.  Big Ben completed 14 of 26 for 175 yards.  

The Steeler defense was the difference.  Two defensive TDs made the difference at the end of the game.

Did you watch the game? 

Let me know what you thought about the game and the game plan.

marianj

The Steelers have a big game against the Minnesota Vikings this Sunday.  In honor of the game I would like to recommend The 50 Greatest Plays in Pittsburgh Steeler History by Steve Hickoff.  Each of the 50 plays has its own chapter with the story behind the play.  Steve Hickoff includes game details, player profiles, photos, play diagrams, and much more. 

Here is a sample of the plays:

50   Harrison Hammers Reed

45  Roethlisberger Scrambles for Daylight

24  Jeff Reed’s Overtime Field Goal

14  The Greatest Interception Never Made

12  The Bus Rides Over Chicago

10  Willie Parker’s Record Run

 1  The Immaculate Reception

My favorite play is #43:  Four Men and a Flea-Flicker.  “Bradshaw to Bleier to Swann to Bradshaw to Cunningham:  the Steelers’ overtime flea-flicker that shocked the Browns into submission.”

I am not sure why such plays are called flea-flickers.  Here is a definition from Webster’s New World College Dictionary:

any of various deceptive plays involving both a lateral pass and a forward pass, esp. one in which the quarterback, after handing the ball off, receives a lateral pass and then throws a forward pass

Here is my prediction for the game:  Steelers win 31-24.

marianj

images from flickr users perpetualplum and andre-batista

I don’t know how many of you have seen the Ralph Lauren advertising images currently causing a ruckus, but you must click to believe! The models’ heads are wider than their waists.

Coverage in: Photoshop Disaster

Shine blog at Yahoo!

The New York Times’ Ethicists asks: “Should Photos Come With Warning Labels?”

Not only are the photo-illustrations laughably not images of real human bodies, one of the models has said that she was recently fired from her contract for being too fat. Blogs posting pictures of the images were sent letters of warning from Ralph Lauren’s lawyers saying they were violating copyright and not covered under Fair Use laws.

It’s a widely-accepted view that most of the images in magazines these days went through some kind of manipulation. To me, that’s what is kind of funny about Ralph Lauren’s images. Everyone more or less accepts that they’re not being shown the truth. It’s kind of working against the brand to be so obvious about it–who is really going to covet a body type that can’t physically exist without the surgical shaving of hipbones? (Besides the sadly real need for “thinspiration” among those afflicted by anorexia.) The fact that Ralph Lauren then made a fuss about criticism of the images and wanted them pulled from blogs makes it even more absurd to me!

Sure, it’s insulting that those images ever got approved as a reflection of what the public wants to buy–and advertising is very often aimed at teenagers, whose income is, in most cases, disposable and will go towards new clothes, music, video games, etc.–but I think it’s much more dangerous when the subtler works of Photoshop slip by. For every obvious retouching scandal like Kelly Clarkson’s Self Magazine cover or Andy Roddick’s new biceps on the cover of Men’s Health, what else is slipping by and making you think “maybe it is Photoshopped, but only a little… why can’t I look that good?”

This debate, like the debate on whether only models of a certain Body Mass Index should be allowed on the runway, seems poised to go on and on without end. It always provides a fascinating debate on what advertisers think people want to see, what people say they find fashionable, and how the images we see all around us affect how we see ourselves.

FURTHER READING:

Made you look : how advertising works and why you should know by Shari Graydon: A primer on the mechanics of advertising

So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld : The author of the Uglies series tells the story of a kid who is paid by corporations because he knows what will be trendy before it is trendy. When one of his friends disappears, he tries to solve it and discovers “consumer conspiracy”.